jewish and israeli food

5 DREAMY SANDWICHES

in ,
on my flight back from chicago i didn't have a book because i had just finished the book thief and hadn't gotten into a new one yet, so i played with my new favorite app, paper, which is this fun drawing/water color thingy. i basically dreamt up a bunch of sandwiches that are not allowed on passover because this year i thought it would be an interesting experience to keep kosher for passover, which i don't normally do. so far it hasn't been that difficult (having a gluten-free manfriend helps). except this morning my cupboards were bare-ish and one of my only options was a bacon jam matzo sandwich. oops. oh and then today chris is bringing homemade hot cross buns to a thing and i really cannot wait to eat one. 

*pause while i do some research about whether or not i will be disqualified from birthright if i blog about bacon on my matzoh*

(ok, we're in the clear.)

in other news, i have officially swapped out my puffy coat for my lighter spring jackets, i am currently in the market for a new molly mobile, sigur ros is on the radio, and i am furiously drafting what i will say when i officiate stoop's wedding in two weeks.

-yay!

RECIPE: MATZO BREI

in , ,
it's matzo brei season which sounds so much better and couth than calling it no-bread-allowed season. matzo brei in its sartorial form is sort of like that vintage fur coat you found at the salvation army: while you're in the store, buying it is a no-brainer, but then when you leave the store it's like what the hell do i do with this now? it's because no one in their right culinary mind eats matzo brei when it's not passover (why do that when you can have a hole-in-the-middle?) but when it is passover it is the best thing evarrrr. 

here's how mum makes it:

mum's matzo brei
makes 2 servings, but you can easily adjust this by keeping a 1-to-1 ratio of eggs to pieces of matzo and then feeling out the rest of the ingredients. 

ingredients
4 pieces of matzo
4 large eggs
salt + pepper to taste
2 tb olive oil
1 large shallot, chopped

clues
1. break up matzo into two-inch pieces and soak in cold water for one minute. drain and set aside.
2. in a medium bowl, whisk eggs. add salt + pepper and whisk some more.
3. stir the matzo into the eggs.
4. heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat and add shallots. cook until soft, about five minutes.
5. pour in matzo mixture and cook as if you were making scrambled eggs. mum removes it from the heat just before it sets so that by the time it makes it to the plate, it is perfectly done.
6. add more salt + pepper if needed and serve with hot sauce.

-yeh!

DANNY MACAROONS

in , ,
last week, after a wonderful morning of surprise visitors bearing chocolate croissants and coworkers bearing home-brewed honey liqueur, i schlepped up to spanish harlem to photograph the last thing i'd ever expect to find in spanish harlem: a macaroon man that makes--mum, cover your ears--the best macaroons i ever damn had. they were so good and chewy and gooey and moist and amazing and on the way home i told myself "self, you will not open the bag of macaroons that the nice macaroon man gave you to bring home to mum, you will not," but i did. i opened the bag of macaroons that the nice macaroon man gave me to bring home to mum and i ate the one with chocolate on it {chocolate o'clock had not yet happened that day anyway}. oh it made the long long ride home so much better. 

go check out more photos of danny macaroons in this slideshow on jew and the carrot. there you'll also find danny's recipe for rice pudding macaroons!

-yeh!